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Friday, January 25, 2013

Cate was selected as one of this year's Miracle Kids for the University of Georgia's UGA Miracle. They raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) as a Children's Miracle Network *CMN) hospital and celebrate children who have received or are receiving treatment at the hospital. We will be in Athens to attend Dance Marathon the weekend of February 23, where we'll meet with HUNDREDS of UGA students who have been working all year to fundraise for CHOA. We're really excited that Cate was selected and can't wait to attend our first UGA Miracle in less than a month!

Our "Family Pals" asked us to send a picture of Cate so they can post it on the website and at Dance Marathon. I sent five pictures because I couldn't decide which one I liked best. I left it up to our "Pals" to decide which one to use.

I think, however, it's time to admit that I have a bit of a photography problem when it comes to my child. Oops.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Day #1 - Evening Rituals...

31

It doesn't happen EVERY night, but I'm a happy camper when it does: A glass of milk and some quiet time with my Kindle. I was able to do it the last two nights and it was so relaxing... makes for a great morning the next day, too!Photo: No Flash + Amaro Filter

Friday, September 28, 2012

I've missed blogging! I've had some difficulties getting my medications straight for the last two months or so and it's made me absolutely miserable. Miserable + Trouble Sleeping = The desire to blog, but not the ability to do so. It looks like the train is finally getting back onto the track, though and I'm very happy to be here.

In an effort to be a more effective and more consistent blogger, I've decided to do a "31 Days Event." What is that, you ask? A 31 Days Event is one in which a blogger hosts one challenge on her blog for each of the 31 days in a month.

I've chosen to participate in A Bowl Full of Lemons' 31 Days of Instagram. I'm excited to try using some filters that I often bypass, and interested to see what kind of challenges she'll throw at us!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Do you have a Pinterest account? Are you addicted like my friends and me? I have a definite affinity for Pinterest and the fact that there's an iPhone app for it, makes it just a little easier for me to continue that addiction.

Starting today and continuing each Saturday, I'll be highlighting my favorite pins from the last week. Take a look at mine, swap, share, and post your own! Let's take a gander...

STYLE:

DisneyBound puts together the cutest outfits and I absolutely adore this one inspired by Cinderella Castle.

What did you find Pinteresting this week??

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Cate’s a pretty good kid. She doesn’t get into a ton of
trouble, follows directions moderately well, and is mostly happy. That being said, she’s four. (Rather, she’s FOUR AND A HALF as she would
tell you.) Whether you’re kid is good or
not, there’s something to be said for being four (and a half); that something is the fact that there will be
days when you wish there was a military boarding school suitable for your
preschooler. No kid is perfect (no
matter how much you think yours is), nor is any kid 100% bad (also no matter how much you think yours is!). Kids are a nice blend of good and not so
good. Another way I like to think of it
is there is good and there is ‘still learning.’

It’s because of those ‘still learning’ times (aka the days I wish I was on a month-long vacation in Tahiti. ALONE.), that the Hubs and I started using The Marble
System. We’re having wild success using
this variation with Cate and many people have seen that it’s successful
(largely through my Facebook pictures) and asked me about how it works. If you’re one of those people, then this
one’s for you: a (few) blog post(s) dedicated entirely to The Marble System (TMS).

For today, let's take a look at supplies. That will give you a chance to get them all together so you can get started!

You will need:

*Two (2) Clear Jars Purpose:
Hold the marblesWe used Starbucks Refrigerated Frappucino Bottles.Why? They’re pretty and I had them to
repurpose.(Side note: We actually
started with 2 different jars that were ugly and didn’t match.I think one was from spaghetti sauce.Why am I telling you this? Because you can
start with what you HAVE and then work your way to something “pretty.” There’s
no reason you can’t start this right now.

*Marbles Purpose:
Keeping track of behavior

You could use other small objects that you have many of
but don’t need to use. I suggest
something small and uniform, but also attractive to your child. We looked at a number of options, but chose
marbles because we have a mix of marble colors and Cate LOVES getting to pick
out pretty ones for the good jar and ugly ones for the bad jar.

*An
Iron Will Purpose: Making it actually work

Here’s where the rubber meets the road: Are you willing
to actually do what it takes to make TMS work? If you’re only going to do it
halfway, only give marbles (good OR bad) every once in a while, make them simply a punishment, or not follow
through and give rewards (it’s a rewards-based system), then it’s not going to
work. Know that before you start
it.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Remember when I told you about the Cruise Chics Retreat in this post? I'll bet you got excited, then thought, 'I can't spend money like that on myself AND not take my family' Well, guess what? Now you can!

I've been given the opportunity to offer my readers two HUGE perks when you register for The Cruise Chics Women's Retreat by August 15, 2012:

1. The chance to win your cruise at 1/2 price. How can you NOT go on a 5 night blessed Christian women's cruise for only $289??? Your chances of winning are looking good and $289 for any cruise is an amazing deal, but even more amazing for this one.

2. EVERYONE who registers for the cruise with the code below by 8/15 will receive FREE pre-paid gratuities!! That saves you a lot of money!

Follow this link to the Cruise Chics website for more information. You can register here. When registering, write code SV13 on your registration form to receive your prepaid gratuities FREE and be entered to win your cruise at 1/2 off! This can be you in April!

*Check back tomorrow for a special guest post by Michelle, THE Cruise Chic, herself!*

Monday, July 30, 2012

I'm feeling very Olympic today!

(name that movie)

Every time I watch the Olympics I hear that in my head. I LOVE the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics. Tonight we're watching Men's Gymnastics (Oy! Don't get me started!) and Men's & Women's Swimming. As I posted on Facebook earlier: I freakin' LOVE Olympic swimming! This year it's even more fun because Cate spent the entire summer swimming in classes at the YMCA and she loves watching it, too. It's beautiful to watch this celebration of the world's best athletes, as viewed through the eyes of a child. Simply amazing.